AI Is Moving Faster Than Ever & What History Warns Us About Its Future

The AI revolution is moving faster than anythig we have ever seen before!

Entire industries will rise and fall at breakneck speed. History teaches us one thing:

Those who fail to adapt, fail to survive.

The AI revolution is moving faster than anything we’ve seen before. Entire industries will rise and fall at breakneck speed. History teaches us one thing: Those who fail to adapt, fail to survive.

I’ve spent my career on the frontlines of technological revolutions—witnessing industries rise, collapse, and reinvent themselves in the wake of groundbreaking innovations. From the expansion of cellular networks at BellSouth to driving advancements in network technologies at Sprint, Infonet, and British Telecom, I’ve seen firsthand how constant connectivity reshaped business, communication, and daily life. More importantly, I’ve experienced the relentless challenges and complexities that come with progress.

Each shift brought extraordinary opportunities—but also unintended consequences. Mobile networks made communication seamless and global, while the shift from satellites to undersea fiber optics made the internet faster, cheaper, and more reliable. These advancements unlocked MPLS, SD-WAN, VoIP, cloud computing, and 5G—reshaping industries and creating new winners and losers. Companies that embraced change thrived; those that resisted it fell behind.

These revolutions were transformative, but they moved at a pace that allowed businesses time to adapt. I’ve seen Fortune 500 giants collapse—not because they lacked resources, but because they failed to anticipate or respond to disruption.

Now, we stand at the edge of an even greater transformation. The AI revolution is unfolding at an unprecedented speed, with the potential to reshape industries faster and more profoundly than anything before.

To understand the seismic shifts AI is bringing, we first need to revisit how past tech revolutions unfolded—and what they teach us about disruption.

📱 The Mobile Revolution: When Connectivity Changed Everything

There was a time when owning a mobile phone was a luxury. In 1980, AT&T hired McKinsey & Company to forecast the number of mobile subscribers in the U.S. by 2000.

Their estimate? 900,000.

The reality? 109 million.

They underestimated the speed of adoption, the exponential nature of technological growth, and how mobile communication would reshape every aspect of life.

I remember when international calls cost $3–$5 per minute, making global communication a privilege few could afford. Businesses relied on expensive, rigid infrastructure, and telecom companies charged exorbitant rates to maintain their dominance.

Then, in 1996, VoIP (Voice over IP) arrived—and everything changed.

Call rates dropped by more than 90%. Platforms like Net2Phone and Skype democratized global communication. The need for expensive international minutes and physical telecom infrastructure vanished overnight.

I witnessed firsthand what this meant for people. I remember a woman in Brazil breaking down in tears—hearing her daughter’s voice for the first time in over a decade because she could finally afford to make the call. Technology was making the world smaller and more human.

But for every opportunity, there was a consequence. The mobile revolution also made:

• Mass surveillance easier 📡

• Privacy harder to protect 🔏

• Digital addiction more prevalent 📲

Some argue that constant connectivity has rewired our brains, contributing to declining attention spans and a rise in ADHD diagnoses.

We embraced the benefits, but we weren’t ready for the costs.

🌍 The Internet Revolution: The Rise and Fall of Trust

The internet was supposed to be the great equalizer—giving everyone access to knowledge, opportunity, and global markets. And in many ways, it was.

It allowed anyone to publish content, start a business, or connect with the world—breaking down barriers that had existed for centuries.

But alongside these benefits, entire industries collapsed overnight:

• 📰 Print media crumbled as newspapers and magazines struggled to compete with free digital content.

• 🛒 Traditional retailers fell as e-commerce transformed consumer behavior.

• 📢 Social media became a battleground, where outrage and misinformation were more profitable than truth.

The very platforms designed to bring people together became tools of manipulation and division. Algorithms optimized for engagement, not accuracy, fueling the rise of content silos, misinformation, and echo chambers.

Instead of creating a more informed world, we ended up with a fragmented reality where facts are debatable, and trust in media, government, and science has eroded.

We didn’t see it coming.

Just as we underestimated the impact of mobile and the internet, we risk repeating the same mistake with AI—except this time, the pace is exponential.

🧠 Will We Make the Same Mistakes with AI?

Between the rise of the internet and today’s AI revolution, a quiet but powerful shift took place. Cloud computing, the explosion of big data, and the rise of algorithmic platforms—from recommendation engines to dynamic pricing—transformed how decisions are made, often without human input. These technologies laid the groundwork for modern AI, which now builds on those same systems—only at scale, and with far greater autonomy.

⚖️ But as AI accelerates, a fundamental question has emerged:

Should AI replace human intelligence—or enhance it?

On one side, reductionists argue that intelligence is a set of functions—data processing, prediction, and decision-making—that machines are increasingly better at. Their view? Let AI take over wherever possible.

On the other side, humanists believe AI should extend—not replace—human capabilities. To them, AI is a co-pilot—amplifying creativity, insight, and performance, while keeping people in control.

🔍 The difference isn’t just philosophical—it’s strategic.

• Will we design AI to replace humans in critical areas like healthcare, law, and education?

• Or will we build systems that empower human expertise and ensure accountability?

✅ We’ve seen this story before. Every major tech revolution brought both extraordinary progress and unintended consequences. Those who benefited weren’t just first—they were prepared.

While we can’t predict exactly how AI will reshape the world, one thing is certain:

It will create new winners, new power structures, and entirely new industries.

The future is being written right now.

The real question is: Are we ready for what’s coming next?